Fleet operators who struggle to keep their drivers updated with the vast array of information about being an at-work driver are being offered a helping hand.

Driver-Link, from Grosvenor Contracts, is a new service offering regular advice and support to drivers of company vehicles and those using their own car for business use.

Free bulletins are sent to drivers on topics such as vehicle checks, safe driving, fuel efficient driving, avoiding small knocks and scrapes, journey planning, the use of in-vehicle technology, taking your car abroad and a whole host of other key aspects related to being an ‘at-work’ driver.

It comes at a time when a spot-check survey by the RAC found that 36% of fleet vehicles failed a tyre inspection and 20% had faulty lights – issues that could be critical in an accident situation and ultimately lead to a company being prosecuted.

The RAC first quarter survey also reported failure rates for other inspection criteria such as vehicle service history (48%), external damage (10%) and abnormal noises (2.5%) and whilst not illegal, more than 37% of vehicles checked failed their inspection for under the bonnet fluid levels.

“Drivers play such an important role in the smooth, efficient and cost-effective running of a vehicle fleet that we launched Driver-Link as an on-going educational, information and advisory service to help fleet operators,” said Nicola Johnson, customer services director at Grosvenor Contracts.

“All too often, fleet managers are left to their own devices to communicate with drivers however this often gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list amongst all of the other priorities that they deal with.

“We initially launched Driver-Link as a service to our customers, but then decided to offer it out to any company who needed support with driver communications.”
The Driver-Link service is completely free to any company, whether you are a client of Grosvenor Contracts or not, and you can subscribe to it by emailing Nicola.johnson@contracts.co.uk.

For existing Grosvenor clients, drivers will be emailed direct, and for other users of the service the information will be sent to a central person to distribute.